Can You Run a Credit Check on Someone?

Written by mark kennan

Share

Tweet

Share

Email

Running a credit check involves requesting a copy of someone's credit report and credit score. Because a credit report contains personal information, there are restrictions on who can run a credit check on someone.

Other People Are Reading

Legitimate Business Reason

You must have a legitimate business reason to run a credit check on someone. This can range from considering someone for a loan, renting them your property or hiring them for a job.

Permission

You must have the person's permission before you can request the credit report. Most credit bureaus will require the person's signature.

Court Orders

You are allowed to run a credit check if a court orders the check without the person's permission.

Obligations

If you run a credit check on someone and as a result decide to reject his application, you must inform the person of the reason for the rejection, so he can correct any incorrect information on the credit report.

Where to Run Credit Check

You should run your credit check with at least one of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.